Quidditch World Cup
by Quidditch Girlz
Summary: Many Quiddtich teams dropped out because of Voldemort, and Miyu Katono has had an exciting new opportunity thrust in front of her joining the National Japanese Quidditch Team! But will she take it? And what will she learn from it? Rated Teen for space!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter one**

It was a gray and stormy afternoon. Sato Yokoro walked along in the rain, his head sunken onto his chest, rain pouring onto him fiercely. This wasn't working. His old seeker, Natsumi, was in a freak accident, slamming her face into a cliff while practicing in an abandoned area of the Grand Canyon, and was killed ruthlessly.

Now it was up to Sato, captain of the National Japanese Quidditch Team, to find a new seeker who could hopefully match Natsumi's skill. Still, he missed her bitterly- despite her stunning skill.

The tryouts lasted from Wednesday to Friday, and on Thursday, there was still no luck. If worse came to worse, he would ask Millie, their hyper-active beater, to step in as seeker. It was much easier to find a new beater than seeker, but Millie was too easily distracted for the job, really.

She had been seeker in school, but she probably couldn't handle being a professional seeker now. Thinking about watching Millie when she was still a teenager made him wonder if there would happen to be practice going on at Japan's School of Magical Studies: Gakkou-Mahou.

Unable to shrug off his curiosity, Sato turned on his heel and apparated to Gakkou-mahou and walked through, relieved that there was no magical barrier. He began his descent down the long hallways and out the back gates, to the Quidditch Stadium. Sato had been the best student in his times at the school, and was sure no one would mind if he dropped in for the game, especially not the headmaster, Joyaung, for they had been good friends. With this in mind, Sato began climbing the staircase to the teacher's box. It was probably the best place to watch a practice game, after all.

To his utter surprise, he found it full of chattering teachers, some squabbling about which team would win and some discussing some sort of dinner party. His eyes flickered quietly over the rainy field to where three chasers were swerving without much of a nice form. It would have been easy for his team to have not only stopped the chasers, but beaten them with bludgers and have the snitch caught in front of their noses in a blink of an eye.

"And a great shot is made by Yoko and that's ten points for his team!" the announcer's voice was excited, and Sato let out a small tittering laugh. _Pathetic_

The teachers all turned, most of their eyes brightening in joyous recognition, other's darkening with dislike. Even a few unfamiliar face's clouded with unrecognition.

"Ah, Yokoro Sato!" Boomed out Joyaung, springing to his feet jovially and opening his arms to embrace Sato heartily.

"Sensei," Sato said respectfully. He was beginning to notice how other teachers were eying his spiky blue hair reproachfully.

"And Katono has spotted the snitch!" boomed the tiny student announcer.

All the teachers turned back to the match, stiffening with interest.

"It's not that we are surprised," Joyaung told Sato. "Miyu is quite the seeker."

Sato turned his eyes with interest to a speeding bullet on the other side of the stadium, fast approaching the teacher's box.

The girl was puny, with a dark blue Quidditch robe obviously to big for her. Her twin black pigtails whipped out behind her like a cloak, the same way Natsumi's elegant blond hair had. She maneuvered her broom almost perfectly, and Sato assumed it was a Firebolt until her saw the golden blur of letters spell out 'Nimbus 2000.'

By now, the other seeker, a lean, towering boy, was also in hot pursuit of the snitch. Within a few seconds, he had managed to bring himself head-to-head with the girl, which Sato found disappointing. Still, the girl was keeping strong, never once leaving to trail of the tiny golden ball.

Finally, the snitch made a sharp turn left. The boy snatched out as it passed him-a completely inexperienced move. Of course, he missed. The girl however, dropped down and flew under, bringing herself up in the snitch's trail. Again, the boy caught her, but this time she rammed him into a stand. Many gasps, boos, and cheers rose up from the crowd, and Sato himself found this move impressive, but still needed some polishing. The girl reached out, her hands mere centimeters from the tiny ball. A bludger came rocketing toward her head, and she managed to duck away just as her fingers wrapped around the golden ball.

_She wouldn't have been so lucky if Millie were the beater,_ he somehow thought.

Her face, once serious, became a ballet of joy and she came to a sudden stop, waving the snitch up in the air. Yowls of joy echoed through the rainy air, but Sato also heard some boos and grumbles. He heard an extremely loud howl of victory from one of the teachers.

"Ha! That's five gallons Mr. Ryo." The student announcer grumbled and dug out some golden coins out of his robe pockets.

Sato covered his mouth with silent laughter, for some reason giddy at the seeker's success as if it were his own team playing.

_That seeker could probably leave all of the other tryout players in the dust!_ Sato marveled, eyes dancing.

"Yokoro, would you like to stay for a mug of…" Joyaung began, but Sato was already sprinting down the steps of the box and out to where the changing rooms were, running so fast that when he tripped over a rabbit hole, it took all of his effort to return to his feet.

He caught up with the crowd and caught sight of black loose pigtails. He swerved under two wrestling beaters who looked like they would fall over any second in fits of laughter, and caught up with the girl- Miyu Katono- who currently had her arms thrown tightly around a good looking boy, no doubt in his senior year.

Sato's throat closed up, and he looked down in embarrassment. When he finally saw the two pairs of feet turn away, his hope of not being seen by a fan was shattered.

"Hey look- its Sato Yokoro, captain of the Japanese Quidditch Team!" yelled a small girl.

"Uh…. No…" Sato protested weakly, the crowd pressing in on him, shouting out praises and asking for autographs. "er, uh…"

"Hey!" came a curt call, and Sato saw Miyu Katono yelling at the crowed, a few of which turned instinctively to her. "Leave him be, you must be suffocating him!"

That did nothing to stop the crowd, who were crazy with lust for a simple signature on their favorite piece of paper.

"Hey, did you see Miyu-san's catch?" somebody called out.

"Yeah, it was a close game, but Miss Miyu is the best!"

"It was a faulty save!"

"Yeah, she should have been fouled for hitting our seeker!"

"That's just because you're seeker is too weak to avoid an attack!"

"Are you here to ask Miss Miyu to join your Quidditch team?" asked the same girl who had first pointed him out. "I heard that Natsumi died two weeks ago."

Hearing about Natsumi's death so bluntly made Sato's heart ache, but he said calmly, "actually… yes! Miyu, come to Quidditch tryouts tomorrow." He explained the location, satisfied at the shocked and embarrassed expression on Miyu's face.

"But what if…" somebody called out. Sato ignored them, hearing about Natsumi made him aggravated. He turned and walked back to the gates, ignoring their squeals of delight that _they_ had seen Sato Yokoro.

**XXX Miyu's POV XXX**

Miyu Katono-the star seeker of her team- pressed her head deeper into the pillow. All in one day, she had had a stressful day at school, Quidditch match, been accused of cheating multiple times in the match, and been asked to join the Japanese National Quidditch team. All in all, it had been a wonderful, joyful day!

_Yeah, right! _Miyu thought, removing her head from the pillow and plopping down on her bed. Miyu bit down her lip, very near to drawing blood-a bad habit she had whenever she was thinking hard. Sure, being asked to join Quidditch teams wasn't anything unusual. Already, she had been offered many scholarships to Magical Colleges for her seeking, but didn't seem interested in any. Because of that, many at her school thought the shy, timid little seeker as a stuck-up brat. Why, Miyu didn't know nor care. She just didn't want to spend her life on a broomstick. Was that so hard to understand?

_Normally, I'd probably turn down this one too! _Miyu admitted to herself. _Maybe I should. _Of course, to little Miyu that was harder than it sounded. On normal circumstances, she would have turned down this opportunity, but Sato Yokoro, the head chaser and captain of her country's Quidditch team, and Miyu's favorite celebrity, had come to the school and asked her to join.

_I could always turn him down, _Miyu assured herself, _I could not show up at tryouts, I can tell him I can't do it. _She began to map out her plan in her head, but somehow seeing the tall, handsome spiky-blue haired boy made Miyu unable to even think the word 'no.' Frustrated, she bit her lip down harder.

At that moment, the door burst open and in flew Hana, the brunette idiot of the school, but also Miyu's closest friend and roommate. Upon seeing Miyu, she squealed in delight, and in less than seconds was at her side.

"Miyu! They asked you to join the Quidditch Team!"

"Yes," Miyu blushed. "I know."

"Oh, just think of it!" Hana ogled. "You'll see yourself on big posters, waving around the snitch, and you'll have so many fans!"

"Hana," sighed Miyu. She was making this much less than easier. "I don't think I _want_ to see my face on big posters."

Suddenly, for the first time, Hana looked annoyed. Very annoyed. In fact, she looked like she was about to murder Miyu, and Miyu shrunk back slightly, wondering for the first time why Hana always talked so loudly.

Hana took a tiny breath, opened her mouth and screeched, "YOU ARE GOING TO THOSE TRYOUTS, BAKA!"

"B-b-b-buh…" Miyu spastically stammered, her eyes wide with shock, and beads of spit on her face.

"Now," Hana smirked. "Get out of bed and scootcha bootie down to the tryouts!"

"But," Miyu finally found her voice. "They're, uh," she wondered if this would cause Hana to scream again. She swallowed. "That is, the tryouts aren't, um, until… tomorrow." She flinched.

"Oh yeeeaaahhh." Hana sighed, and wandered dreamily to her bed, where she flopped down and was snoring in milliseconds.

A/N READ AND REVIEW AND PLEASE NO FLAMES! thanks


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

Millie Miller opened her eyes groggily, a dull throb in her temple. She felt her head and remembered… ah, yes… the shoe. She slid out of bed and onto the floor, standing up with her spastic hair sticking out in all directions and her pajamas creased in many places. She scratched her leg absentmindedly and made her way to the window, where gray sunlight peeked through.

She saw a three very distant towers, which she realized were goal hoops. Oh yes, her captain, Sato, was trying out for a new seeker. She really did feel bad about his loss, but, with a yawn, felt even more sorry for the fact that he had to waist perfectly good sleeping time to tryout a bunch of wannabe seekers who had no chance.

Millie really didn't want to return to seeking, preferring beating for the wonders it had, involving swinging bats into other's faces. And, of course, knocking out other people's brains with bludgers. She wondered how the tryouts were going….

XXX **Miyu's POV **XXX

Miyu clutched her broom tighter, wishing desperately that she was somewhere else. She had arrived early, intended on telling Sato she couldn't do it, but the blue haired chaser never gave her a chance, and shoved a broom into her hands.

Miyu didn't even have the comfort of using her old Nimbus 2000. She had managed to win every match since she gotten the broom, and could use it easily. She had even thrown it down in frustration, causing a bit of it to break off, making it perfect for the tiny girl's size. Sato had ensured her that her chances would increase if she used a Firebolt and, unwilling to decline, accepted.

She watched as the other seekers pursued the snitch, each of them making desperate attempts to snatch at it, only to have the golden ball avoid their fingers every time. Each time, Sato frowned with distaste and told them they did great, then dismissed them, but of course the most stayed and watched the competition.

Finally the last seeker landed. She had a confident look painted all over her face, and Miyu didn't blame her. So far, she'd managed to get the best time, and only little Miyu was left. Sato raised an eyebrow, impressed, but didn't give any other indication that he would chose her as his seeker.

Finally, it was Miyu's turn. She gulped, mounted her broom, and, when Sato gave the signal, launched herself into the air. The broom was faster and longer than her Nimbus, and Miyu found it difficult to maneuver. Still, she did her best, and thought it was okay.

Now came the hard part. Finding the snitch.

Her sharp eyes darted around the huge, empty field, searching for the gold among the green. Finally, she saw a flitter of movement, but it was only a mouse, scrabbling for some seeds.

At last she caught a glimpse of it, fluttering by one of the towering stands. She sped towards it, once again surprised by the speed in the Firebolt. With this speed, however, it made catching the snitch ten times easier. She sped towards it, making it by the snitch in less than three seconds. The snitch sharply turned, but Miyu was ready, and she shot out a hand, whacking the snitch by mistake and amending her mistake by grabbing the snitch before it darted away.

"Nice one, Miyu." Sato cried proudly. Miyu felt her heart leap at the praise and a small, nervous smile played at her lips.

"Now… let's see how you deal with this." _Oh no,_ was the first thoughts that came to Miyu's mind. Sato turned, and called out in exasperation, "Millie, that was the signal."

"Oh!" came a small, excited voice, and a tall girl with a brown bun and a Firebolt in hand ran onto the field. A few gasps of admiration came from the crowd, and Miyu was sure everybody would recognize the American/Japanese Millie Miller. With a gulp, Miyu saw Millie's Quidditch robes hit around muscles in the arms.

"You are still SO lucky to have caught me on my way to breakfast, Sato." Millie grumbled loudly. She sized Miyu up with sharp blue eyes. "Well, let's see how you do, kid."

"Um, I'm almost eighteen." Miyu corrected the tall girl.

"She calls everybody a kid," Sato explained quietly. He held out his hand, and Miyu stared at him in confusion. "The snitch, Miyu."

"Oh, right." She dropped the snitch into his hands.

"Now," Sato instructed. "I'm going to work on Mitsune, you go work with Millie. After we're both satisfied, you and Mitsune will race to get the snitch."

Miyu felt pride bubbling in her chest. Sato thought she could be their next seeker! Woah! With a start, she realized that Millie was tapping her foot impatiently, and she sped to the Quidditch player.

"Honestly, you'll have time to ogle our captain once you make the team." Millie snapped.

"You really think I have a chance?" Miyu asked, ignoring the comment on Sato.

"Sure, whatevs. Hey, listen, I always have been asking this question." Millie turned to look Miyu in the eye with her piercing blue stare. "What is you-know-who's real name?"

"Excuse me?" Miyu gasped. This was the last question she would have expected Millie to ask. Judging by the blank expression on Millie's face, she had to guess that it was a serious question. "It's, uh, well, Vol-"

"Millie!" came a scream. "Stop yakking and start training!" Millie turned and saluted Sato.

"Okay, kid." Millie continued in a more professional tone. "I'm going to play both seeker and beater as, if you make the team, I will be beater and back up seeker. So are you ready?"

"What?" Miyu yelped. "Do you mean we just play?"

"No dip, Sherlock." Millie snapped. "Don't you speak Japanese?!" Miyu narrowed her eyes in annoyance.

"Fine, you're on!" she growled. And they were off, shooting up as two balls (bludger and snitch) were released.

Miyu had barely gotten anywhere when a bludger rocketed toward her from Millie. She ducked to avoid it and paused, eyes darting around in the pause it would take for the bludger to hurtle back, searching for a flit of gold. _There!_ As they were only using half of the field, it was simple to catch the snitch.

Unfortunately, Millie was rocketing towards the gold ball as well, face creased with determination. Miyu dived to the ball, her newer Firebolt catching up with Millie's less new one.

Suddenly they were shoulder to shoulder, Miyu stretched out her hand and- _thwack!_

And the world was spinning crazily. A bludger had hit Miyu's broom and sent her twirling around in random circles. _STOP! _She mentally screamed at her broom, trying to keep it still. And suddenly the world righted its self, and Miyu's first glimpse of anything was gold.

She shot forward, shaking her head of the dizziness and put on a new burst of speed. "Yes!" she yelled and landed, just realizing that she was only two feet from the grass.

She looked up triumphantly to see Millie standing with her head downcast, her body shaking. "Er, what's wrong…?"

"I can't believe I just lost to a kid." Sniffled Millie, which enraged Miyu to the point of screaming.

"Millie, is she ready?" Sato called from the other half of the stadium. Miyu half expected bad sportsmanship from Millie, and have the Professional Quidditch Player to say 'no way', but Millie was still silent…

"Yeah, sure." Millie said good-naturedly, looking up at Miyu proudly.

Miyu's eyes brightened and she dashed over to where Sato and Mitsune stood.

"I think you're the first person who's ever beaten Millie not to walk away with several bruises." Sato murmured, stunned.

"You mean from the bludgers?" Miyu asked innocently.

"Actually, I meant from her fists." Sato laughed, running a hand through his vivid blue hair. "Okay, ladies. It's very simple: whoever catches the snitch without being beaten to death by Millie wins."

Miyu and Mitsune exchanged glances.

"on your mark, get set…. GO!"

Mitsune wasted no time. She rocketed up into the air and took off downfield, making wide circles around the stadium. Miyu followed, but more slowly. She swept the field with her eyes, again searching for gold. Moments passed and she spotted it. The snitch flew low to the ground, keeping as inconspicuous as possible, but that didn't work out well for the ball. Mitsune had already spotted it.

The blond haired girl was now mere inches from it, and Miyu's broom kicked into hyper speed, but didn't move fast enough.

_TWACK! _

"Haha!" Millie cried triumphantly. "I got 'er!" Miyu blinked, and looked down in horror at the motionless body of Mitsune, now lying on the ground.

"You killed her!" Miyu gasped at Millie, gaping at the smirk on the other girl's face.

"That's a Quidditch game for ya." Millie said loudly. "If you're too chicken to kill another player, you might as well leave!"

Miyu shook her head disapprovingly, but saw Mitsune's body twitch and slowly she pushed herself up, reaching for her broom.

"NO!" Millie cried out, agonized while Miyu breathed a sigh of relief. Then her mind returned to the game.

_Snitch _

She zoomed off, eyes scanning the field for a glint of gold. She found it easily, too. The tiny ball was floating near a stand. Miyu shot towards it, and, as if the Snitch was suddenly aware of her presence, it took off as well.

Mitsune was still climbing on her broom, and Millie was too distracted by her failure to notice Miyu's discovery. _Just a little closer… _She thought, reaching out. _A few more inches and I'll have it…_

"Got it!" she yelled, the snitch's wings flapped in distress for a moment before folding closed. A storm of cheering erupted and Miyu jumped, looking up in shock. She had completely forgotten about the hundreds of people watching the tryouts.

"NO!" came a scream from below. Miyu looked down to see Sato and Mitsune rowing down below.

"Listen to sense! Miyu got the snitch first, Miyu's seeker!" Sato reasoned, his voice getting harsh from impatience.

"Do you know who I am? My father runs the factory down town that _makes_ your broom- you can't shun me!" Mitsune screamed.

"Please, calm down-" Sato began.

"Hey, Mitsune!" Millie was on the ground now, too, and Sato groaned. "If you don't leave my Sato alone, I'll give you an uglier bump!" she raised her bat threateningly.

"oh, you defending your _boyfriend_ now?" silence met Mitsune's words, and Miyu could tell this was way beyond the normal insult.

"Hiyah!" Millie and Sato chorused, their fists ramming into Mitsune's face together. Mitsune flew back, hit the stands, let out a whimper of pain, and ran out of the tryouts.

"Nice one!" Miyu said cheerfully, landing on the ground beside them. Neither Sato nor Millie answered; their eyes were cold and sad. Suddenly Sato stalked off, leaving misery in every blade of grass he flattened beneath his feet.

"Natsumi, our old seeker who died…" Millie said sadly. "Sato and her were crazy for each other. I swear, I thought Sato would never leave his room after…. She was an awesome person, and we all loved her. Her death was like…" she shook her head.

"I can't imagine…" Miyu murmured, her heart breaking for Sato's loss. She stared out at his bedraggled form and wished she knew a way to help him out of his misery. But as far as she knew, there was no amount of victory or a spell that could mend his broken heart.

XXX **Miyu's POV- 3 days later** XXX

"Don't worry- the team will love you." Sato assured Miyu as they walked down to the National Stadium where Miyu's first practice with the team would be held.

"Well, after seeing Millie, I'm not…" she trailed off.

"Millie's, eh, very confident in herself. She's only been on the team for about four years and Quidditch is her life already- despite the fact she's trying to get into college." Sato explained wearily.

Miyu had a sudden mental image of Millie professionally wrestling. "And, eh, what kind of career is she, er, aiming for?" Miyu asked, wondering if she should be afraid.

"Photographer." Sato turned around. "Hey, what are you doing down there?" Miyu had fallen over in shock.

"Let's stop talking about Millie, okay?" Miyu spluttered. Somehow she couldn't quite image the hyper brunette holding a camera for more then three seconds before destroying it completely.

When the two of them reached the crest of the hill, where the entrance of the stadium sat, Miyu halted.

"What is it?" Sato asked, puzzled.

"Don't… uh… Are you sure…?"

"They are probably the most friendly, yet most ferocious team out there." He assured her in an unreassuringly way.

After dragging Miyu onto the stadium, Sato announced to the five eagerly awaiting team members,

"You're new seeker, Miyu Katono!"

Silence….

More silence….

_What have I gotten myself into?_ Miyu wondered nervously, turning red.

Still the silence pressed in…


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter three**

And finally, the silence was broken with a sudden, loud grumble. "He got us a kid?" Miyu felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment. And then she heard the same voice again- but this time it was a yowl of pain. Looking up, she saw the grumbler on the ground, a foot on his head. Millie was kicking his face into the dust.

"Don't be so rude!" snapped the tall girl.

"Well it's the truth!"

The response's reward was another kick from Millie. "Next time, I'll kick where it _really_ hurts!" she warned.

"Uh… nice welcoming committee?" Sato gasped; hand on the back of his head.

"Hokay then!" Millie smiled. "I'll be the… the… team profile person." She finished lamely. "This," she said, dragging the boy with orange hair from the ground by his shirt collar. "Is my dear friend Kato! He says he's sorry by the way, don't you?" she asked, shaking Kato roughly by his shirt collar and making him gag. "And that he'll buy you a bowl of ramen some time!"

"Wha?"

"Moving on!" Millie continued, ignoring Kato's outburst. "You know Sato, so this," she pulled on a green haired girl's braid. "Is dear ol' Izumi! She's keeper and has been on this team for eight long years. Honestly, find yourself a man, Izumi!"

"Double chop!" Izumi yelled and thwacked Millie on the head.

"I feel the love, Izumi." Millie growled, rubbing her head. "Here we have Suzuki- a chaser along with Sato. She's a rather heavy drinker, she might be hung-" at the point Suzuki clapped her hands over Millie's mouth.

"This is," Millie finally announced, "Tenharo- but the others call him Ro! I, on the other hand, call him Mr. Accident, because he has fallen off of his broom onto another player at least a dozen times!"

"That's your fault!" he cried, reddening.

"Oh, sure blame it on me all you wish, Mr. Accident!" Suddenly the entire team grabbed Millie and chorused, "And this is Millie, the team moron and back up shield from freak fireworks!"

"That was not nice!" Millie gasped. "Those flames were ALL OVER ME!"

Miyu giggled quietly. "You all have so many memories."

"It happens when the only thing you're good at is Quidditch." Izumi said sadly.

"But I-" Millie began, but was unheard as the team suddenly decided that they liked Miyu and was off to show her everything on campus.

Millie stared at them. "Sato," she said, shaking her head and laughing. "Your wish is about to be broken!"

She stared out over at the beautiful sunset and said quietly, "I only wish mine would break as well."

XXX

Millie caught up as the team was leaving the stadium.

"Uh, Sato?" Miyu asked hesitantly. He turned, black eyebrows raised in a silent question. "Weren't we supposed to practice today?"

"One of the first things you learn," he said finally, turning to face Miyu. "about being in Professional Quidditch is that we can't always practice when we say we will. Otherwise we would all quit, deciding to find a regular job instead. So every once in a while, we take a couple of days off, where the team can do normal things."

"Like?" Miyu prompted him. Sato sighed and ran a hand through his hair, thinking.

"Well, the girl's dorm is full of Millie's photography. Kato loves music so he has a few muggle items, such as an ipod and a few recording programs on his computer. They both love soft things, so their beds are stuffed with things like pillows and blankets. Even if we're only here because we're doing Quidditch professionally, we still do have things that we like, and we had to bring it with us- because we no longer hang out with the public, or else we'll get hailed in publicity."

"So you mean," Miyu gasped, clapping her hands to her mouth. "I can't see Hana anymore?" It wasn't much of a question as it was a statement, and Miyu turned away in shock before hearing the answer.

Sato opened his mouth to reply, but closed it again. It was just something Miyu was going to have to get used to, and encouraging words never helped. Sato searched his mind for something to break the awkward silence between, and finally came up with; "Hey, Miyu. Why don't we go to the broom shop and get you a new broom?"

"I don't know," Miyu sighed, clearly disappointed. "Do you think I can use my Nimbus? It was a gift from Hana, and I'd like to do something so I don't forget her…"

_Okay, _Sato thought_, this isn't what I expected. _Anyone else in the world would love to go buy the greatest broom in Japan with a professional Quidditch player, but apparently Miyu didn't. Again, he searched for something comforting to say, but found words of the complete opposite.

"Miyu, listen," He didn't give her a choice, as he grabbed Miyu's shoulder and turned her to face him. "I know you're going to miss yours friends. Everyone does when they start. But you have to move on. And no, you can't use your Nimbus. It's old and slow, we'll lose every match, as well as be humiliated, if our seeker rides one. And I expect my seeker to be on the best broom there is. So come on, we're going shopping." He muttered the last part disdainfully.

Miyu hesitated. It sounded strange when Sato referred to her as 'my seeker.' She wasn't sure if she should take it as a complement or not. Sighing, she embraced the fact that she couldn't get out of this-still, she resented it. She kept her sullen thoughts to herself, and allowed herself to be dragged along to go shopping for a new, jerky, and disdainful broom.

XXX Later XXX

Miyu sighed as Sato forced another Firebolt into her hands, again assuring her that this was 'the one.' And so, Miyu mounted it and found, again, that it was not 'the one.' Sure, she loved the chestnut color, but the broom was towering, much taller than the puny girl, and it was so thick that Miyu couldn't wrap her hands around it. Sighing, Sato took the broom from her and thrust it back at the attendant-who was clearly annoyed that they _still _hadn't found a broom.

"Do you have it in a smaller size?" Sato questioned.

"I told you, sir," The attendant tried his best to resist from sounding irritated, though he was failing miserably. "That's the smallest size in right now for Firebolts."

"Check again," Was Sato's brief, irritating response. By the look on the man's face, Miyu was sure he was going to kill Sato then and there. His face was chubby, and every ounce of fat and face was turning bright red.

Still, he whipped around, sulking off into the back of the store. Miyu was sure that Sato would have no choice but to put her on her old broom, but, much to Miyu's distress, the man returned with a perfectly sized broom, and Miyu embraced it-but not gently. She thought for sure this was the one until she saw "Comet 260" in golden letters.

Sato, however, didn't seem to have noticed, for he was thanking to man when Miyu tapped him gently on the shoulder. "Um, Sato," She croaked, nervous of what fight she would bring about. "There's something you should know about this broom…"

"What?" asked an aggravated Sato. Miyu only pointed to the words.

Sato turned around, a vein throbbing on his temple. "I thought I told you," he said very quietly to the man. "to get me… A FIREBOLT!" he ended in a scream that made Miyu cover her ears in surprise. "WHY ARE YOU SO INSISTANT TO GIVE UP ON ME, HERE? WHEN I SAY FIREBOLT, I MEAN FIREBOLT, BAKA! YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO THE NATION IF YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT A FIREBOLT IS!"

Miyu flinched, hands clasped tightly over her ears. "Please…" She begged, her voice lost in the screams. "Stop yelling!"

Suddenly a ringing sound came from somewhere, and everyone fell silent.

"Well, that's the end of my shift- see ya!" the man said jovially, bouncing out of the shop, leaving Sato seething. Miyu thought she spotted the word 'England' on the back of his shirt.

"What can I do for you kids?" The two of them turned to see an old man entering the shop.

"We need," Sato said, obviously fighting to keep exasperation from his voice. "a Firebolt that she can ride without being killed by it's size, _please_!"

The man stared at Miyu for a second, then hobbled into the shop. Miyu and Sato exchanged uneasy glances as they heard rattling and creaking from the back. He returned a moment later with a perfectly sized broom.

"Firebolt, did yeh say?" he made sure, handing them a small broom with the golden letters spelling Firebolt.

Sato was silent for a moment, his expression flat. Then he gave the man some galleons and thanked him- all the while, Miyu was staring at the man with steel fury for eyes. She DID NOT want a new broom, _at all_. Yet still, she slightly liked the broom's polished black wood and how the word 'bolt' was faded behind the word 'fire', but of coarse she'd never admit it.

"Let's just go then," she snapped.

XXX **Girly Dorm** XXX

"This is the…." Millie said majestically. "Girly Dorm!" she opened the door to a room bursting with all sorts of things. Miyu spied four bunks, a banner that read, 'girly dorm' and several dozen photographs hanging from the ceiling. She was rather overwhelmed by all of the personal items scattered about.

"Some of us," Izumi said, glaring at Suzuki and Millie, who were both spaced out at the moment, not catching the look of annoyance. "tend to not _pick up_ after themselves."

"Huh?" Millie said, dreamily staring at some of the pictures. "Oh, yeah, Miyu, do you think I take good photographs?"

Ignoring Millie, Miyu asked quietly which bunk was hers. Millie pointed to one of the top bunks, but then continued rambling on about her photos, which Miyu had to admit were stunning.

"I sleep here!" Millie announced, patting a bed that looked like it was both awesome and scary. Dozens of pillows were pushed around on the springy mattress, and a mobile of a bludgers, something that looked like Victor Krum, and a dead fish, with photos everywhere the eye could meet. But all of the various items weren't what made Miyu gag in shock. A tree branch- yes, a fully grown _tree branch_ was sticking through the wall and shot across Millie's bed long ways.

"Me thinks I'm sleepy," Millie said in English, Suzuki and Izumi giving her blank stares. Luckily, Miyu grew up in London, and she snapped in English,

"Do you take advantage because some people don't speak English?"

"Yes." Millie said bluntly, pushing Sato lazily out of the door and starting to change into pajamas. "Yes I do."

In the middle of the night, as Miyu listened to the other's as they snored on, she thought about Hana. Whatever Sato said, he couldn't keep her away from her friend! Miyu silently crept out of bed, flinching as her ladder creaked. She backed away from the girl's bunks and pulled herself out of the door.

She would see Hana again- tonight!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

It was about midnight when Miyu left the dorms. She didn't expect anyone to notice her departure-after all; Suzuki was snoring too loudly to notice anything. Shivering, Miyu pulled her jacket tightly around her. The air wasn't cold, it was, in fact, a rather warm night, but she shivered anyway.

She stood outside the towering old castle, her school, Gakkou-Mahou, and slowly approached it. To a Muggle, the school would have appeared as a traditional Shinto shrine (undergoing repairs), perched carefully on a towering hill. Any wizard would and could see the school in its full glory-the magnificent castle that shot straight up into the sky, dark walls shining dazzlingly against the bright sunny sky, but no visible doors.

As Miyu approached the castle, two towering, majestic crystal double doors appeared and swung open welcomingly. Miyu smiled, comforted at the familiar sight, and hurried inside.

The school was just as she remembered it. The marble floors, that were bewitched to show a scene of some sort, tonight presented a beach, the water lapping up the shores and the sanding creasing under wherever you stepped. The walls were decorated with pictures; the people inside the paintings taking a nice snooze. Miyu moved quietly down the halls until she reached a crystal, spiral staircase twisting up for what seemed like forever. As Miyu climbed the steps, she closed her eyes gently, thinking almost desperately of her destination. When she reached the third step, it took on a silvery glow that flared out and surrounded the small seeker, consuming her completely before vanishing.

The glow reappeared in a hallway on the 4 floor. The silver died down, allowing Miyu to step free of the shining aura, her lips molded into a smile. She was going to see Hana!

She turned to what appeared to be a blank wall, and looked for the odd brick. Aha! She ran her fingers along a slightly darker gray brick than the rest of the pale gray stones and softly sang the song:

_"Sing the song, softer, softer,_

_So you don't get lost,_

_Make the time longer, longer,_

_Or pay the frightful cost."_

With a faint whisper of wind, the brick transformed into a red wood door, which she hastily stepped into, for the door would disappear three seconds after being touched. As Miyu stepped into the painfully familiar common room, she noticed how little it had changed. Sure, somebody had ripped off the sign on Miyu's favorite fluffy chair that read, "Miyu sits here!", but besides that, nothing was different.

_What did I expect? For them to grieve losing me?_ Miyu asked herself, climbing a wooden staircase to the girls dorm, and pushing through the various curtains along that way. She stopped in front of a black door with golden letters that spelled, Seventh Year Students.

"Hana!" she hissed, tapping her gently snoring friend, who opened her eerie emerald green eyes at once.

"Miyu?" she asked, only the tone of her voice giving away how sleepy Hana was.

"Yes!" Miyu gasped, smiling broadly.

"Oh, hey…" Hana said vaguely, her eyes darkening with evil interest, though. The tall Japanese girl reached under her pillow, obviously trying to hide this action with her body, but Miyu wasn't fooled.

"What are you doing?" Miyu asked.

"We've all been hoping to see you, Miyu!" Hana said creepily, and pulled a silver box with a red button on it. "Hoping very much!" she pressed the button.

An alarm call sounded throughout the room, and probably from the other dorms as well. Through the ringing bells, Miyu could hear Hana's voice magnified to yell, "Miyu, the newest Professional Quidditch Player is in the seventh year girls' dormitory! Please come get autographs."

"Han! What is this?" Miyu cried, clapping her hands to her ears.

"Will you sign my sheet's, Miss Miyu?" Hana asked, taking a quill from her bedside table and offering to Miyu as the alarm still rang. Suddenly there were dozens of girls all over, asking for the same thing: Miyu's autograph!

"I admire you, Miss Miyu!"

"You are the best, Miyu-san!"

"I looooove you!" came a chorus.

Miyu shook her head as her old classmates pressed in on her, suffocating her. This wasn't what she wanted. She yelled out and tore through the crowd to the door, and pushed it open.

The common room and staircase was filled with all students.

"Get AWAY FROM ME!" Miyu screamed, losing patients.

"Guys, get away from the newbie! Hey, no pushing! I know your mother, Mr. Kiyosko!" came a new, very familiar voice, and Miyu saw Millie fighting through the crowd with ease. "Lean forward!" The American Quidditch player yelled to Miyu.

"Don't carry me!" Miyu protested.

"Fine." Millie agreed, and turned to leave, ignoring the crowd pressing against her, trying to steal her clothes.

"No, wait!" Miyu gasped, and Millie turned and picked up the reluctant new idol. Millie carried Miyu out of the dorm easily and together they sprinted down the halls to the grounds, where, as soon as they made it out of the gates, they turned and apparated.

A split second before leaving the grounds, Miyu saw hundreds of students running after them. Then she was in the 'Girly' Dorm.

"Thanks," she panted, sitting down.

"No prob!" Millie said, relaxing. Miyu wondered what was wrong with this picture. They were just sitting in the 'Girly' Dorm, the lights on and the girls no doubt in the living room. Wait. It was still just after two o'clock.

"Millie, how did you know I was gone?"

"Ah. I was waiting for you to ask. See we wouldn't have known if Suzuki hadn't falling out of bed and knocked over the ladder. So as we put it back, we realized that through our groaning and complaining and light's turning on, you hadn't stirred. So… yeah, you get the drift."

"Oh," Miyu said, shamefacedly.

"But come on, Miyu!" Millie said in annoyance. "You are really bad at sneaking out! You didn't even put pillows under your covers!"

"Does this mean I'm not in trouble?" Miyu said hopefully.

"Kid, you were _in_ trouble."

"Yeah, I know I was!" Miyu snapped. "But I mean, with the team."

Millie stretched and yawned. "Well, Sato came looking for you. He said something about training. Anyway, we told him you were out on a walk so he's probably out looking for you or something."

At this, Miyu yelped and scurried over to the closet she had claimed as her own the previous night, digging through for some cloths more appropriate for Quidditch practice.

"Whatcha getting all worked up for? He only came a few minutes ago…" But Millie didn't get to finish for Miyu was already out the door.

Izumi grinned, as she entered the room just after Miyu left. "It's always like this the first practice."

Millie just groaned and began to change slowly- as she glanced out the window, she saw Miyu sprinting down the walkway, broom in hand.

**XXX**

"Millie!"

"Sir!" Millie said seriously, saluting Sato importantly.

"How many times must I ask you not to call me that?" Sato groaned, exasperated. "Hit a bludger at something, I want to see if you need practice."

Millie shrugged, took aim at a particular bludger and whacked it with her bat as hard as she could.

Millie, who was fond of beating up various members of the team, crowed in jubilation when the bludger hit the destined target: Sato's nose.

"Oh my gosh, have you hurt him?" little Miyu squeaked in alarm, speeding over to where Sato was fixing his broken nose.

"Still have a lot to learn, young grasshopper." Izumi teased.

"Yeah, Miyu," Kato laughed. "In Quidditch, we're a family. When one person gets hurt, we're here to laugh at them and bring it back to haunt them for the rest of their miserable lives."

"I am the proud sponsor of 87 inside "accident" jokes!" Millie said importantly, puffing out her chest.

"And I like to punch the guys when they think they can cop a feel!" Suzuki said, marveling at her flexed fingers.

"It's a pretty rough life, all in all," Sato said, his broken nose healed. "But we always have fun."

"Like this!" Millie yelled, and punched Sato in the face, breaking his nose for the second time that morning.

Miyu stared at him for a moment, and then giggled, if unwillingly.

"Oh - " Millie cursed in English as Sato regained balance and shot her a murderous glare. "This means payback from Hell."

"Millie, you have kitchen duty, clean up duty, and laundry duty for the next week!" Sato yelled. Millie gasped in anger, stole the quaffel from Izumi and threw it at Sato's face.

Millie had thought that by now, Sato would have the sense to dodge flying balls hurtling at his face. But he allowed himself to be smacked in the face for the third time.

"Millie, enough!" he growled, once again healing his nose. "I want you to practice seeking today. You've obviously had a little too much experience in the beating department."  
"Seeking!" Millie moaned, obviously resentful. She glared at Miyu in dislike, causing the young woman to flinch visibly.

"Yes, seeking. You're going up against Miyu, so get to it. I let the snitch out awhile ago." Sato briefed her. "Now get to it," he blew on a whistle, the piercing noise echoing through the Quidditch field.

Miyu mounted her new Firebolt and took a deep breath before she kicked off. Millie had already rocketed into the air, quick as ever, and was zooming around in all directions, eyes sweeping the field for golden.

Miyu followed, alert for the tiny ball, but she lacked speed; the Firebolt was still new to her and hard to maneuver-adding speed would just result in her totally losing control and embarrassing herself in front of the whole time and Sato.

Thinking of Sato made Miyu blush, though she was unsure why, and she quickly shook off this emotion in time to notice Millie had spotted something. She was speeding toward the ground, snatching at the air in front of her.

Miyu speed off towards her and immediately wished she hadn't. She had forgotten that she rode a Firebolt now, and the overwhelming speed nearly sent the girl into a wall. She took a few moments to recover before taking off, more slowly, towards Millie-only to find the girl stopped and screaming out in frustration about losing the snitch.

Miyu sighed and examined her surroundings closely. There was no gold amongst the green and white of the stadium, so she glanced upward. On some rare occasions, Miyu had found the snitch floating over the stadium, hidden in the blue of the sky.

This was on of those times. The snitch was a few meters directly above Millie, and Miyu dove towards it. Millie immediately caught on and pulled her broom upwards, grabbing at it.

The snitch then decided it was going to move. It swayed sideways, then took off, both girls closely behind. Miyu reached out, as did Millie, but the beater also sped up, closing in on the tiny golden ball. Miyu followed her act, the speed again shocking her but she kept control, her fist wrapped around the broom so tightly her knuckles were beginning to turn white.

Finally Millie decided to loss the girl. She bumped into her, causing the tip of Miyu's broom to point down and, at full speed, Miyu plummeted toward the ground. The tiny girl yelped and pulled out of the dive, just in time to watch Millie close her fingers around the golden ball.

"That wasn't fair!" Miyu cried, cheeks red with the embarrassment and disappointment of her defeat.

Millie shrugged. "Quidditch isn't fair. Get used to it kid." She landed and strode off, Miyu following, shoulders hunched and fists clenched.

"Why did I agree to this in the first place?" She fumed. "I should never have joined the school team! All Quidditch does is ruin my life!" She was oblivious to the fact that Millie overheard and had a reply ready for her.  
**  
XXX Sato's POV XXX**

Sato's head was bent over his diagrams, pencil in hand and ready to use. But nothing was coming to the captain's mind. It had been a long, long day and he was stressed.

First he had had to convince Joyaung, the headmaster, to excuse Miyu from the rest of the year. That had gone well, for the headmaster was ecstatic that Miyu had accepted a job in the Quidditch department, for she had turned down many. Why, Sato had to wonder. Miyu didn't seem to enjoy Quidditch as much as the rest of the team, and Sato wondered if he should be proud or not that he was able to get her into the Quidditch profession.

Next came investigating Mitsune's threat. Sure enough, the Quidditch store downtown had refused to sell him the part he wanted, leading up to a heated "discussion" with the shop manager. The seeker's threat hadn't been empty. And lastly, conflict was growing within the team.

Sure, Kato and Suzuki had always hated each other with a passion, but they had never stopped to scream at the other mid practice. Topping that, ever since Miyu had lost to Millie, she had refused to talk to the brunette, and Millie didn't seemed to happy when Sato asked about Miyu's skills at lunch. He suspected that the two had had an argument of their own that had created a wedge between them.

And all of this was in time for their first match.

Sato scowled and surrendered his pencil to the desk. How was he supposed to think of strategies now? Sato smacked his head repeatedly on the desk in frustration, hoping some idea would come to his mind. He was interrupted by a small knock on the door and the timid voice of Miyu calling him.

"Come in," Sato called, and Miyu entered, dressed in a casual black sweater and jeans, a outfit much similar to the one Natsumi always selected. She was blushing, which wasn't rare for Miyu. The girl always seemed embarrassed around the team.

"Sato, are you okay? You didn't leave with the others to go to dinner and you didn't eat at lunch and, well, you seem upset. Is something wrong?"

"Nah," Sato told her. "I'm just a little frustrated. You know, comes with the job." She nodded. "Anyway, why didn't you leave with them? I'm sure you'd be hungry after practice."

"Well, I wanted to stay here and study for awhile. I mean, I know I'm not in school anymore and I don't have to, but I don't want to end up stupid like M-" She cut off abruptly, a hand clasped over her mouth.

"Like Millie? Because she's not as stupid as she seems- she just lacks patience." Sato finished. Miyu nodded; still clearly shocked she had even thought such a thing. "Did something happen between you two? You and her have been avoiding each other lately since morning practice."

Miyu sighed. "We got into a little argument. It's nothing big. You don't have to worry about it."

"That's good," Sato replied, but sure Miyu was as far from right as possible. "You want to get something to eat? I know a place on the corner that's not to crowded…"

"Yeah, food sounds good." Miyu said quietly, as if dazed, and Sato had to wonder what had happened between her and the beater.


	5. Chapter 5

Millie opened her eyes to see blurriness, something that often occurred in her dreams. She wiped her tear-stained cheeks and got up. Early dawn sunlight peeked into the 'Girly Dorm,' making the tall Quidditch girl squint and cover her eyes.

Yawning numbly, Millie staggered over to the bathroom, where she washed her face and checked the calendar. "Oh sh-" she began to swear before she realized that everyone else remained in their slumbers.

Quidditch match today! CRAP! Millie had forgotten all about it- yesterday she had ditched practice to go on a photography spree and had brought back pictures that even she admired.

Sato had gone off on his normal rant, and it was the same argument every time Millie skipped practice. She didn't know why, she just felt that Quidditch shouldn't run her life.

She pulled her wand out from her bathrobe and flicked it, causing her hair to suddenly sweep back in a messy but cute bun. She swished the wand again and her toothbrush suddenly cleaned her teeth faster than five seconds and more efficiently than the cleanings of a two minute long scrub.

Millie knew that the Quidditch match against Bulgaria wasn't until around 7 P.M., so she dressed normally in her blue jeans and soft pale meant-to-be-pajama-top shirt with a blue jacket tied around her waist and flicked off the light, ready to go downstairs for a quick breakfast.

She noticed the other girls stirring and stared at them, wondering, not for the first time, how long it would take her to snap and get out of the Quidditch career forever. It shouldn't be long now, she thought with dismay.

It seemed that no matter how hard she tried, Millie's rebellious attitude made her the least favorite roommate. She knew that, she accepted that, but still she couldn't stand that for long.

"Millie?" Miyu appeared beside Millie like magic, hair already neat and tied back. Millie ignored the short teenager and stalked out of the 'Girly Dorm' and into the narrow hallway. She took a shortcut through a loose panel in the wall and climbed down three stories, coming out of the Janitor's closet on the bottom floor and almost running into Kato.

"Yo, Millie." he said kindly. And together the two friends walked to breakfast, and in different worlds completely.

**XXX Miyu's POV XXX**

Miyu was nervous, and it wasn't just the fact that Sato had informed her that last time Millie was in a fight with someone, she had 'accidentally' hit them in the back of the head with a bludger. Today was her first Quidditch match ever. These weren't moronic kids on broomsticks like the ones at her school. These were the pros, the best, and they would most likely beat her down like a fly.

She had changed with a flourish, but her vibrating hands made it so that it took her much longer than the others to change into her professional green and white Quidditch robes, that had been enchanted to fit her perfectly.

She emerged from the changing rooms to find all of the team in groups. Izumi, the keeper, had checked in with the chasers for a moment before doing her job by making sure all of the balls were as the should be and unhampered with.

The chasers, Sato, Ro, and Suzuki were huddled together, exchanging tactics, while Millie and Kato talked loudly to one another. Miyu wasn't sure what to do; this was very different from the normal procedure where the Quidditch captain explained everything.

Miyu drifted over to Kato and Millie and listened in on their conversation.

"I cover this side, and you cover that side- keep an eye out for Miyu, she's so tiny she'll be hit by other players who don't see her coming!" Kato was saying, neither of them realizing that Miyu was standing, indignant, a foot away from them.

"We'll slay them!" Millie cried, intending to punch the air but accidentally smacking Kato on the nose. "Oh my gosh!" Millie gasped, leaning over the swearing beater. "Are you alright?"

"Are you okay, kid?" Miyu turned to see Izumi holding out Miyu's broom, which she realized she had forgotten in the locker room.

"Oh...uh, thanks!" Miyu squeaked, trembling nervously.

"Hey, don't worry about it, Miyu." Izumi said bracingly, patting her on the shoulder. "Just don't fall for the Wronski Feint and you'll be fine!"

"The what?" Miyu asked, but then Sato yelled, "Come on, they're calling for us."

Pale and feeling like she was about to be sick, Miyu followed at the back of the line as Millie and Kato both punched each other in the shoulder (obviously some sort of good luck thing) and lined up.

The doors swung open, cheers and yells flooding into the room caused Miyu to stiffen.

"Nervous?" Sato asked. Miyu wasn't quite sure when he had walked up, but nodded none the less. "Don't be. It's just Bulgaria."

'Just Bulgaria' didn't sooth Miyu's nerves. Bulgaria had nearly won two years ago, Ireland just narrowly defeating them, and had one last year. She was almost sure Viktor Krum was the best seeker in the world, and even more positive that there was no way she'd catch the snitch this time.

Still, Miyu followed the team onto the field, taking her spot in the circle of players that was beginning to form as the announcer called out their names. It suddenly occurred to Miyu that this was the first time she had seen the stadium in a game, and she glanced around, taking in the hundreds of cheering people and gigantic black boards hovering near the stands with JAPAN: 0 BULGARIA: 0 written on them. The Bulgarians wore scarlet head-to-toe with fur belts and hats, though Miyu wondered why they would wear them when it was exceedingly hot today.

Miyu finally realized the announcer was talking as the referee walked onto the field, broom in hand, and kicked open the chest of balls. Two black blurs burst off into the air followed by the scarlet Quaffle and the golden winged ball that Miyu spotted just before it vanished into the air. The referee gave a sharp, piercing blast on her whistle before following the balls into the air.

"THEY'RE OFF!" roared the announcer.

The chasers burst into motion, Sato and Levski (read the silver letters on the back of his robes) each snatching out at the Quaffle. To Miyu's dismay, Levski got it first and-before Sato could even think about tackling-had thrown it to another chaser.

Miyu would have sat there watching all day had she not remembered that she, too, was a part of this match. She had to catch the snitch. So, with this in mind, Miyu sped off on her first lap around the stadium, eyes scanning it for golden. No luck. Again, Miyu circled the stadium and again found nothing.

Scowling, Miyu halted and assessed the game thus far. The announcer was screaming out names-"Yokoro! Daisuke (Tenharo)! Demitrov! Back to Yokoro! Etsuko (Suzuki)! Levski!" The Bulgarian shot toward the hoop and threw, but luckily Izumi intercepted and threw it back to Sato.

Focusing on her job, Miyu strained her eyes to search for anything gold, and instead found something black rocketing at her head. Miyu managed to duck out of the way as the bludger plummeted towards her and sped off behind her.

Of course, the Bulgarians weren't done yet. A beater shot up in front of the bludger and slammed it back toward Miyu. The seeker, focused on the snitch, was oblivious to this and turned just in time to see it just feet from her head and _TWACK! _

"Take that!" Millie cried out victoriously, puffing out her chest. "It'll teach you to mess with Japan!"

It took a minute for Miyu to register what had happened. She figured that Millie had had to come up and hit it away, but how she couldn't quite think of. Finally she called out, "Hey Millie! Thanks!"

The girl's joyous expression was replaced with on of distaste, and she simply answered, "It's what I do."

"Look, I'm sorry about earlier-" Began the small girl but she was abruptly cut off by Millie.

"And _why _should I believe you?" Miyu opened her mouth to respond, but closed it again. She had only known the girl a few weeks, and hadn't quite come up with a reason the beater should trust her.

"Uh hun. That's what I thought." She said.

"You should be apologizing to me! Those things you said hurt!" Miyu shot back.

"Oh really? And you think you didn't hurt me?"

Miyu scowled and decided she would save the discussion for later. Right now, she needed to find the snitch and get her team 150 points. It was now forty to sixty, Japan behind, and Miyu could see the chasers were worn leaving Izumi to keep Bulgaria from scoring.

Again, Miyu searched the field for gold and this time, to her surprise, found some. The minuscule gold ball was hovering in the middle of the field, contently zooming around in circles. Miyu dove after it at full speed, the announcer's voice booming out. "And Katono's seen the snitch!"

_Crap, _Miyu thought, snatching out at the snitch. _Why'd he have to yell that out? Now its only a matter of time before Krum catches up! _Scowling, Miyu again attempted to grab the snitch, but it dove right in order to avoid. Viktor Krum swooped down into it's path, he and Miyu packed so tight together that their shoulders were pressed against one another. Krum extended his arm, as did Miyu, and they were both surprised when a bludger shot from Kato rocketed into Krum's side, the seeker slamming against Miyu and both of them knocked off course.

Miyu recovered quickly, searching for the snitch but found she had lost it. Krum had done the same, but was now cursing loudly. Miyu had to resist the urge to follow his example. Luckily Millie had swooped down right next to her; otherwise her self control might not have been enough.

"You almost had it," She told her. "Had Krum not come in you would have-" But Millie did not get to finish for Miyu rudely snapped.

"What do you want _now?_" Millie had again turned angry and was preparing to yell something at Miyu, but the tiny girl spotted Krum take off again, zigzagging through the field.

"The snitch!" She gasped and took off, despite hearing Millie cry, "No, wait! Don't go! It's a tra-"

Miyu quickly sped up, catching up to Krum in record time as he turned into a dive. Miyu followed, eye searching ahead of her for the snitch. She saw nothing gold or tiny, just grass. Confused, she turned to Krum, hoping to see where he was looking, but the Bulgarian was looking back at her with a smirk all over his face as he pulled out of the dive.

It suddenly occurred to Miyu what was happening and she tried, desperately, to pull out of the dive. She almost succeeded, too. The tip of her broom was now pointed at the bottom of the stands, but the ground was approaching too fast for the broomstick to kick into motion, and Miyu crashed into the ground with a loud impact that rang throughout the stadium.

"Oh!" the announcer cried. "And she hits the impact! That's a time out from Yokoro

"Miyu! Miyu, are you okay?" Miyu groaned and lifted her head to see Sato beside her. He was like her personal angel to take her to Heaven.

"G'night," she said, beginning to fade into unconsciousness but suddenly something collided with her stomach and she sat bolt up right, eyes wide open.

"Hey now, you're the only way we can win the game- you can't die until after it's over!" Millie exclaimed, punching Miyu in the stomach again.

"Stop!" Miyu yelled, aggravated, as Millie drew her fist back again for a third blow. Mediwizards began to swarm around Miyu.

It was her legs that were in bad condition. She had nearly broken to pieces her right leg while her left had numerous scratches and rips.

The mediwizards repaired her scratches quickly, but it took ten painful minutes to repair all of the bones broken in her right leg. Finally, she sat up on her broom, which had amazingly been unharmed.

"Ya better yet?" Millie asked, swooping over. "They're about to put us in time-in again. Are ya ready?"

"Leave me alone, Millie! Stop acting like a child and be more mature, you're older than me, you do know what the word mature is, right?" Miyu snapped, pain in her legs making her short-tempered.

Millie's jaw snapped up, making her nose upturned- a sign that she was furious. She hurried over to Kato, who smiled at her and the two friends talked animatedly, Kato obviously not realizing Millie's upturned chin or hands, which were placed on her hips.

"Come on, guys, back on your brooms!" Sato yelled, smiling encouragingly at Miyu.

The Quidditch players began the game yet again, and Miyu continuously had to dodge bludgers that were sent careening her way from the other team. Then suddenly the bludgers stopped coming. Miyu looked around and saw Millie and Kato back to back knocking bludgers so ferociously it seemed impractical. For some reason the bludgers seemed to swarm around the two, Millie taking delight in whacking Victor Krum on the back as many times as she could see him and Kato preferring to murder the other beater's hard to reach feet.

"And Editors has the quaffel yet again!" The announcer roared. Miyu watched as Millie and Kato exchanged a glance and waited until both bludgers were rocketing towards them, at which time they whacked them as hard as they could. This eliminated Tenharo and Levski temporarily as they rocketed down on their brooms. Millie sped after the rocketing bludger, dropped down so she was hanging with one hand on her broom. With her other she hit the bludger, screaming,

"Present for Victor Krum- world's KRUMiest seeker!" The bludger zoomed forward, hitting Krum in the side, causing Viktor to collide into one of the goal hoops. Millie, while hanging on handed from her broom, couldn't steer well, and she accidentally ran into Demitrov, who dropped the quaffel with a strange cry of, "BETTY!"

"uhh…" Miyu said, not sure whether to laugh or not as Sato smugly grabbed the Quaffel (or … Betty) and scored.

She finally decided to mutter "whatever," and take off again, watching Krum closely as she searched the field.

Nothing. Miyu didn't even see a bludger as it shot across her face and straight at Sato, who was hit squarely in his chest and knocked backwards off his broom. The game went into another time out, Bulgaria being fouled, and after a few seconds of being lost in a crowd of Mediwizards Sato was back on his broom good as ever.

After this, the game grew more brutal than Miyu had ever seen before. The Bulgarian chasers had stepped into over-drive, and threw the Quaffle more than ever now, not seeming to care whether it went through the hoop or made contact with another player. On top of that, Japan's chasers were beginning to tire. Tenharo had lost all of his usual bouncy speed, Suzuki's passing had grown sloppy, and Sato most of all seemed as if he was going to fall off of his broom any moment from exhaustion. This left Izumi to keep the Bulgarians from scoring, and they were shooting the Quaffle so rapidly that many times Izumi missed, making the green-haired keeper short temper. They were losing now by 50 points.

The beaters mostly seemed to have lost their minds. Bludgers zigzagged across the field, knocking down every player. Miyu found herself spending more time dodging bludgers than actually seeking. Their aim had grown sloppy as well. A few minutes ago, a Bulgarian beater miss aimed and hit Krum rather than Miyu in the face, causing Millie to fall off her broomstick from fits of laughter. Unfortunately for Miyu, she had been close to the ground, and the Mediwizards had fixed her up along with Krum before the game resumed.

Frustration caused Miyu to scowl as she circled the field. The cheers from the crowd didn't help either. As she passed the Bulgarian's side, she had to avoid being hit by tomatoes and other rotten fruits thrown from the crowd before the ministry stepped in and stopped them. As she flew by Japan's territory, the cheers grew so loud that she had accelerated in order to not go deaf, nearly flying into one of the stands.

This game needed to end, and in order for that to happen, that snitch had to been in Krum or her hand. So Miyu too worked as fast as her Firebolt would move without her completely losing control. Still, she found nothing at all.

Finally Miyu spotted something down near the ground-a flutter of gold. She knew better this time than to be spotted and have the announcers screaming that she found the snitch, so she approached it slowly and found it had just been a bird pecking at the ground. Miyu felt like screaming out to the heavens, but somehow resisted and resumed her search.

A sudden eruption of cheers from the crowd nearly caused Miyu to jump, and the announcer's booming voice followed; "Krum's seen it! Krum's seen the snitch!" Miyu's eyes instantly shot toward the scarlet-clad seeker to see him in a dive, eyes narrowed in concentration and the usual scowl painted on his face.

It was a trap. It had to be. Krum was trying the Wronski Feint again. Well, too bad, Miyu thought bitterly. It's wouldn't work on her again. But it was almost second nature to her that, when another seeker found the snitch, you pursued them, and she found herself stopped near the goal hoops, debating on whether to follow or not.

She was there for a few seconds before Izumi, Quaffle in hand, screeched at her, "LOOK YOU MORON!" Miyu's gaze shot towards the keeper to the Bulgarian seeker and she saw, indeed, a glint of golden before him.

Miyu, normally, would have cussed but decided she didn't have time for it now. Her broomstick accelerated, kicking into motion, and leveled her out with Krum. They still had a good distance until they reached the ground, but none the less Miyu felt uneasy in a dive because of her last encounter.

All too gleefully, the snitch quickly darted right, Miyu and Krum close behind. It turned again, left, then back downward and right. After it took one more jeer right the tiny golden ball decided to head upward, both seekers still in pursue. Its wings flapped rapidly and repeatedly, carrying it much faster than the seekers top-of-the-line brooms.

Krum snatched out, Miyu doing the same, but the snitch speed up slightly, avoiding both their grasps.

They were high up now, Miyu could tell because the rowdy cheering had faded into just a faint clapping sound. Wondering just how high up they were, Miyu took her gaze off the snitch for just a moment and looked.

She could still make out the vague, shifting blurs of the other players, but the goal hoops had vanished from sight, and the stands looked like colorful blocks put together by a two year old.

The snitch then decided that it missed the ground and shot right, directly in front of Miyu's face, then downwards, Krum taking off after it with Miyu close behind. _Idiot!_ Miyu cursed herself, _if you had just paid attention you would have caught it!_

It was too late now. They were back in a dive, and the snitch now favored Krum, flying contently just in front of his crocked nose. On top of that, the ground was fast approaching and the snitch didn't seem to be moving in another direction. Krum snatched, snitch but inches from his clutch but it moved again, this time hovering in Miyu's grasp.

This was it. It was hers. She reached out, her hand moving painfully slow, and she could almost feel her fingers around it before she, again, was flattened into the ground at full-speed, and sent flying into unconsciousness. But Miyu didn't need to be conscious to know what would happen.

That was it. The game was over, she had lost.


End file.
